re: Indie/Alternative Obsession(Posted by Baloo on 12/6/12 at 4:34 pm to AlxTgr)

quote:Doesn't change the fact that I can't stand their music. I saw/see them as the embodiment of what was wrong with music then.

I can see that in regards to Madonna, but what's the beef with Prince, who was always regarded as a bit of a musical savant? And 1984 Michael Jackson hadn't gone full on freak show yet, and was still churning out, well, great pop songs you could dance to. OK, the Thriller thing was way overdone, but Beat It? Billie Jean? Those songs are pretty great, regardless of era.

And I say this as someone who was already pretty big into punk by 1985. I don't think I would've admitted to my friends back then I liked Beat It, but I'm not so concerned about being cool now. Just curious. How were they what was wrong?

Just going by what I've seen you post in the past, this is shocking to me. There's nothing in those songs that appeals to me in the slightest bit. I'd rather listen to the Worst of Sonic Youth, which is pretty terrible.

re: Indie/Alternative Obsession(Posted by Baloo on 12/6/12 at 5:00 pm to AlxTgr)

quote:Just going by what I've seen you post in the past, this is shocking to me.

I love good pop hooks. I prefer power pop, but I've got a soft spot for a well-made pop song. In fact, it's the reason I prefer McCartney over Lennon -- McCartney had better pop sensibilities. It's hard to write a good hook.

I do love my art rock more. But it's possible to love goofy pop and literate art punk. Heck, I like showtunes as well.

re: Indie/Alternative Obsession(Posted by Baloo on 12/6/12 at 5:06 pm to AlxTgr)

Yeah, my problem with a lot of pop songs is not that they are popular, but that they are poorly written, have no hook (or nothing BUT a hook), and are just f'n lazy. Write a whole song, not a fragment of a song. My problem with Katy Perry and Lady Gaga is that once you strip away their theatrics and just listen to the song, there's not much "there" there. I think they don't have very good hooks, honestly, and their attempts to be shocking are just sad and cloying.

quote:I have to muddle through a lot to find stuff I really like. There is a reason it doesn't appeal to a wide variety of people and isn't mainstream.

Of course, I find the same with mainstream stuff as well. Probably 1/10th of the stuff I hear, I like anywhere.

not me, I have a pretty good system to find what I like. It doesn't bat 1.000 but I bet it hits around .650. And its based almost exclusively off the what.cd music similar artist. its done amazing well, much better than other methods like last.fm. Now the problem with that is you get stuck in circles of listening to the same style.

So I add in pitchfork + gorillavsbear + select friend recommendations, and 2 out of 3 stuff I listen to I like.

I do agree, that 75%+ of what I hear out sucks. There are a few bars that do well for me, but they are the exception and not the rule.

My bigger problem is that for the most part, my friends have shitty taste in music. I try to steer them to new stuff, but a lot of it is repetitive. At least I got them hooked on TVoTR and built to spill, so that is common ground. But they seem to focus on a lot of really bad folk. fricking hippies.

Its sad most of my friends hate electronica, its really the best stuff coming out right now.

quote:My bigger problem is that for the most part, my friends have shitty taste in music. I try to steer them to new stuff, but a lot of it is repetitive. At least I got them hooked on TVoTR and built to spill, so that is common ground. But they seem to focus on a lot of really bad folk. fricking hippies.

I strongly dislike Michael Jackson and I only like 2 or 3 Prince songs though I realize he is an extremely talented guitarist.

I didn't have any older brothers or sisters, but I had friends in HS whose older brothers introduced us to that period's alternative music and by the time I got to LSU (85) these are the bands I was into for the most part: